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Hi there. In came across your bass collection in one of your posts and have a question for you. Would you be able to PM me?
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Well, bass brothers…I need group support!
As you know, I just purchased a Ray34 and I love it with the exception of two things.
The maple finger/fretboard doesn’t compliment the matching body and headstock in my opinion. I wish it was a darker color like rosewood but whatever. I’m just being picky.
The other issue is weight! This thing feels heavy and causes shoulder pain/fatigue.
It comes in at around 9.8 lbs and obviously my Ibanez and Schecter are lighter, so I’m just curious if this is something people get use to over time or not?
I purchased an elastic style strap and it helps a little but to be honest, I prefer a more rigid strap. The elastic (Ernie Ball) that I purchased got great reviews but just feels too spongy for my preference. Just wondering how you guys deal with this?
Thanks
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Well, there’s no getting around the weight of a MusicMan bass they are not for a faint of heart for sure. The only light MusicMan I own is the caprice bass.
Maple finger board feeling comes and goes really. There are times that I really crave the looks of and feel of maple, then other with rosewood. I’ll say this roasted maple tops them all, lol.
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Many people, myself included, prefer wider straps (10 cm/4 inches or more) for comfort. See also:
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Wider can be more comfortable but overall design and materials create a lot of varying comfort options. My most comfortable isn’t the widest. For my MM I use the Darkglass strap and it works very well.
When I first started I thought I had to have the most comfortable “I’m an old man dammit” strap and realized that over time you get used to more than in the beginning opening up design options.
Nice strap hunting is like finding the right pick. You gotta try/buy a bunch before you Sund your go to.
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You might want to give Revo straps a try. I can’t think of anything more rigid than wood. 
I’ve always wanted to try a Ray because everyone speaks so well of them (and they’re nice to look at) but it would be pointless for me given their average weight. 
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My Sire V7 weighs a lot, I put on a Kliq strap and it helps a lot with the weight. The right strap makes a difference.
I like playing maple fretboards, so they don’t bother me, just my taste. Not a fan of Pau Ferro or Rosewood. Ebony on the other hand, I really like the feel of. I’d put that on everything if I could.
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Walker & Williams Super Wide 4" Double Padded Top Grain Dark Brown Leather Bass Strap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2PDIBC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FRP7150JG3377QQPFZGF
Although I have numerous straps for my bass’s and guitars, I just ordered this one that’s suppose to show up tomorrow…… We’ll see how it feels….
Keep On Thumpin’!
Lanny
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4” is a wide as strap @Lanny !
I’m looking at mine and I’m reckoning 2 1/2 would be my widest and that’s a leather one.
To be honest though I tend to play sat down basically because my eyesight isn’t good enough to make out the music on the iPad if I stand.
I still use a strap though for the moments I stand up to let a cat through the door etc and forget I am playing my bass! Sounds ridiculous but the strap has saved a nasty fall for my basses a few times
I have a couple of their straps and dig them a lot.
Not that padded either so that one should be really good.
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I am glad I ain’t the only one that does this!
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…… Mine too @Mac!! But I don’t read music or notes anyway…. I always stand to play and kinda just improvise…. I do listen to the original recordings to get an idea of what’s goin’ on, but I suppose I’m more a “Rebel” in the fact that when it comes to making music, I kinda wanna just do it my way…. I’ve tried sitting down to play, but it just (for me) doesn’t feel quite right…… kinda like sitting down at a bench and shooting targets…. More fun runnin’ around blasting “off-hand”…
Keep On Thumpin’!
Lanny
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Now that I totally get 
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I love the Maple fretboards, and prefer them to darker in almost all situations.
Only way that I think dark fretboard works on yours is if you swap out all the chrome with Black hardware to give it the blackout effect.
But thats just my opinion, i have always prefered maple to Oak and natural and light stains to darkwoods for most any furnature, Instruments, trims, etc…. So thats just how I like it. Sorry you are not as fond of it.
I also find the maple fretvoards to be a dream to play on. Again, just my opinion.
As far as weight.
Yes, the Ray 34 and EBMM stimgrays are a little heavier then the SBMM Ray 4 and Ray 24.
Most weight is because of the chunkier neck, but then also the 3 band EQ and 4 knobs bs the 2 band eq and 3 knobs.
I dont find either one better then the other for pain, cuz I always have pain, but for fatigue, yeah+ it will happen until you build up a little more endurance to the heavier bass.
IMO, the Stingrays are about perfect weight, bordering towards a little heavy, but I kind of like that, and some of the lighter basses I have played (not all) feel a little flimsy to me.
But I am a big guy too, so that makes a big difference too.
My Squire P (pete Wentz signature series) is super light, but feels rock solis.
In comparrison too the Inanez SR 300 and 400 I have had that seemed a little more body heavy then my squire, but did not feel nearly as rock solid as the Squire, this is what I mean by “Flimsy”.
Which is funny
Cuz the Ibanez GSR 200 (cheap line). Did not feel flimsy to me at all, so I am not trying to callout Ibanez here, just examples of construction.
Something thet SBMM and Squire usually nail, and the instruments feel rock solid.
Maybe not all Squire affinity feel solid out of the box, but for the most part, this is my overall experience.
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I bought a short scale Sterling Music Man recently and it was 10.4 lbs. Nuts! It went straight on Reverb.
Life’s too short for heavy basses. That should be on a t-shirt.
Got a Fender P Bass. Much more friendly weight.
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I wonder if it is simply that you like heavier basses. “Design heft” is a real design principle, and some people have a preference for it.
Many basses in the SR line are very lightweight; like my TRBX, or Warwick Rockbasses, many Ibanez SRs can weigh in around or under eight pounds, easily. A lot of people (myself included) find this desirable; to others, maybe it’s a drawback?
Obviously the SR’s also have thinner necks than the MM’s, even the MM’s with Jazz-like necks. This is also a preference for some people, drawback for others.
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Like I said, My Squire Signature P (J neck) is super light, but still feels like a brick.
It is probably the lightest bass I can remember ever playing, but still, it feels as solid as a rock, and I really enjoy playing it.
Idk any other way to describe what I mean about some of the SR basses, and others I have picked up thet felt FLIMSY, other then that, but I have played a RBX-170, and again, felt like a brick, not flimsy at all.
Some necks, just feel like you can move them back and forth, and even do easy string bends this way, and that is what makes them feel flimsy to me. Both SR,s I had were like this.
The GSR was not, but it has a thicker profile neck then the SR, so maybe thats the deal.
But, more expensive Ibanez SR models don’t have this same feel that I have ever noticed. Mostly the SR”s under 500. The 500 and above have felt fine to me.
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